An Assessment of Rental Car Insurance

Planning on taking holiday? Need to borrow a vehicle while your current car is in the shop? If so, you might be in the market for a rental car. Renting a car has become an increasingly affordable option around the world – it’s much cheaper than you might think. But what many people don’t see included in the cost of their rental car online is the insurance they’ll have to pay when they get to the desk.

This can often be a nasty surprise, but it is a necessary evil. At the end of the day, you don’t want to be liable for damages or an accident if you end up having some problems. This is especially true if you’re in a foreign country.

Rental Insurance Provided by Rental Agencies

Most rental insurance provided by rental agencies will cover the basic costs of theft, accidents, or damage. Agencies will not let you rent one of their vehicles if you do not have some form of insurance for the vehicle. This insurance is not typically advertised in the cost you see online when you first decide to rent your vehicle – you may want to ask for insurance cost clarification before you commit to any rental.

Typically, the costs covered will be for theft and accidents, but there are a range of other things that can occur while you’re driving a vehicle. They may also have additional insurance for personal injury, death, and a host of other problems that may arise from you driving the vehicle. You’ll need to make sure to request these add-ons if you want to mitigate you chances of being financially responsible for certain issues.

There may also be a certain add-ons that can help you reduce your co-pay or other contributions should something happen. As well as add-ons to increase the overall limit on your coverage. Regardless, it’s important to take the time to look at these things, especially if you are on holiday in a country you are unfamiliar with. You don’t want to end up having a large liability that you can’t pay, especially if you are overseas in a nation with different laws and regulation. Remember, you may be more likely to get in an accident in a country where you have less understanding of the road rules.

Ways Around It

The only true way around this is to purchase your own insurance, use a credit card car insurance, or check with your current insurance provider. Some credit cards include insurance on rental cars if you pay for the rental card in-full using the credit card the insurance is attached to – this is a handy benefit afforded with some credit cards. In addition, some people have car insurance policies on their current vehicles that also provide them with insurance on rented vehicles. Again, you’ll need to check your policy to confirm if you have this feature.

If you’re looking for more information about credit card auto insurance, make sure to look at one of the other articles on our blog. It talks in-depth about how you can use it to save money on your next holiday!